Beginnings
by Shiawase Vampire
Summary: How a young Renji became friends with an equally young Rukia.  Slight spoilers for up to chapter 98.


**Beginnings**

"Wow!"

"Cool!"

"You're the best, Rukia-san!"

…

_When did they become traitors?_

He pouted severely, his scowling gaze piercing the back of each and every one of his friends, and especially the back of the weird girl. The smug brat was showing off for them again. Didn't she know only he was allowed to do that?

"Heh," he scoffed. "It wasn't all that big…"

He was merely lying to himself. The smoking crater left by the devastating low-level—but still impressive—kidou technique showed that she was at least stronger with that particular one. Of course, he was better with everything else.

She turned to him, a smirk on her face and said, "Oh yeah? You're just jealous."

He bristled, color flying to his cheeks. "Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Uh…guys?"

"_What?_" they both snapped.

"Never mind," their friends said, all three of them sighing heavily. They seemed to do that a lot lately.

"Pfft, whatever…" he said, crossing his arms across his chest. "I'm going home."

"Don't go, Ren-chan!"

"Yeah, we still have plenty of time to play!"

"Come on, there's more mischief to be had!"

"No," he said firmly, his foot savagely kicking a stone in their direction before he left. Quickly, a dark cloud looming over him and his temperamental mood, he stalked away from his friends and her.

_Stupid Rukia…why'd she have to come and spoil things? She didn't even try to make me stay. _

…

_Not that I would've,_ he thought darkly, his cheeks burning red again.

He continued alone through the forest, back towards Area 78. That was the last place he would have liked to be heading towards, but where else was he going to go?

"Stupid girl! Thinks she's _so_ special! She's so…" he struggled with the words, his anger stealing all coherent speech from his tongue. "So…annoying!" The sound of his own frustrated voice soothed him a little.

Until he heard the snap of a twig and soft sobs coming from whatever was running away from him now. He turned and caught the sight of a thin small girl with a big head before she disappeared into the underbrush.

"Damn it," he swore under his breath.

Reluctantly, he started after her, dodging tree branches, his clothes snagging on brambles and wayward twigs. He muttered darkly under his breath, exposed skin catching and ripping on the sharp obstacles.

"Come back, Rukia…" he sighed.

"Leave me alone!" she yelled.

He picked up the pace. The last thing he wanted was for her to go tattling to his friends. What would they think of him once they heard he made her cry? "Rukia! I didn't mean what I said!"

_Liar._

"Go away!"

His lips pursed together, his annoyance growing steadily. Hands balling into fists at his sides, he stopped his pursuit and skidded in the dirt. "Fine!" he screamed. "Be that way!"

Stupid girls… 

Grumbling he turned around again, retracing the rampaging path he had made through the forest. The cloud above his head was in full-blown thunderstorm mode now.

I just wanted to apologize. Why'd she have to run? 

"Hey kid! What'd you do to my forest?" yelled a deep voiced man.

He glanced around for the owner of the voice, but couldn't see anyone. "What do ya mean, 'your forest'? It don't belong to you, moron!" he countered. He so wasn't in the mood to deal with stupid adults either.

The leaves rustled, tree branches cracking and before he knew it, his face was shoved into the hard ground, the rest of his body pinned under a strong body.

"Big tough guy, huh kid?" the man said, his voice a mere whisper, dangerous and frightening now.

"Ge—get off me!" he stammered. He might be tough, but he'd be damned if he'd fought anyone like him before. His heart beat fast in his ears, his fear rising.

The man's large hand slammed his head into the ground again. Blood started trickling out of his sore and battered nose. "_No one gives me orders! No one!_"

He growled and used all the strength he had in his young body to force the man off him, but he was simply no match. Loudly, the man began to laugh, his knees digging into his back with each guffaw.

"Not so tough anymore, huh? How's it feel now?" The man's breath was hot and disgusting. His nose wrinkled, trying to block out the smell.

"Not so bad. I've been meaning to get closer to nature," he replied sarcastically. He tilted his head to the side so he could smirk at the man. In the back of his mind, he knew the answer would only bring more pain, but he said it, nonetheless.

"Smart mouth," the man chuckled callously. He felt a hard fist smash against his face. He winced, biting back a scream. Never in his life did he give anyone the satisfaction of making him scream, and he didn't intend to start.

Then his laughing stopped, replaced with an exclamation of pain.

"Get off him."

He groaned, his cheeks burning with embarrassment. She was the last person he wanted to see, life or death situation be damned.

"You… Another brat, huh?" the man snarled. "Kids like you need to be taught a lesson. Starting with—"

He closed his eyes, anticipating the pain the man felt. While the stupid adult was threatening and talking idly, he watched her fumble with another rock, one almost too big to hold in her small hands.

As the man fell, he felt a great weight lift off him and he quickly bolted to his feet. Wiping hurriedly at his clothes, he looked at her and a split second later looked away.

"Thank you…" he muttered very softly.

"What?"

"THANK—!" he yelled, then he calmed down and said, "—you. You didn't have to…"

"Oh, I know." He began to pout again. "But, I wanted to come back and talk to you."

"Really? I mean, why?"

"I wanted to hear an apology from you." He stared blankly at her. Words couldn't express how confused and angry he was. "And…I wanted to apologize to you too."

He huffed, absently wiping the blood away from his nose. Folding his arms in front of him as his body turned away, his eyes looked at her askance.

"Well, if that's the case," he said haughtily—he couldn't believe he was doing this. "I guess, I'm s—"

"Look out!" she screamed.

The large looming presence had caught him off guard, but he ducked, rolling to the side. The man who had attacked him earlier lost his momentum and crashed to the ground, the knife he held firmly in his hands now stuck in the ground. At the same time, both he and her called upon the special powers they had and threw it at the man.

Astonished, he stared at her, ignoring the painful mass of a man in front of him. Without thinking, he jumped over the man and grabbed her hand, pulling her away from the scene.

When neither of them could run anymore, they stopped, bent over double and panted loudly. They looked at each other and began to smile and laugh, both of them falling onto the ground. For a while they lay against the ground. Finally, he sat up, taking note of where they were. They had broken the tree line and if they had run any further, they would have run clear off the ledge and into the forest below the rocky edge they sat on now.

"I'm sorry for being mean," he said while she still giggled. She stopped and gave him a look. Blushing and looking away, he added, "Okay, I was very mean! I'm sorry!"

She began giggling again. "I know. I forgive you!" A small smile crept over his lips. "I'm sorry too for making you feel bad."

"Bah, never mind about that."

"No, but I'm really sorry!"

"Rukia is special," he said softly, looking out across the valley in front of them. _I'm gonna pay her back for saving me. _"So I guess it's okay if she shows off."

"I—I think Renji-kun is special too…"

The next day, she was up to the same old tricks, showing off her kidou powers and bossing around the guys. He still scoffed and pouted, but this time, he didn't let jealousy get the better of him. She wasn't that bad, anyway. It only meant that he had to grow stronger. He didn't want to be saved by a girl again. That was two times now that she'd done that.

The next time, he'd be the one to save her.


End file.
